Bottle pourers are commonly used to help pour liquids from bottles at a more consistent and controlled rate than could be obtained by simply pouring directly from the bottle opening. They are commonly fitted to bottles whose contents is to be dispensed in relatively small quantities, for example bottles holding alcoholic spirit drinks. A bottle pourer typically comprise a base which is fitted to the opening of the bottle, and a tube which extends from the base and through which liquid from the bottle is dispensed. Bottle pourers typically restrict flow from the bottle, and since they provide a constant flow rate they can be used by bar staff to dispense a fixed measure of fluid based on how long the fluid is poured for.
One of the problems with known pourers is that the contents of the bottles may attract flies to enter the ends of the pourers, which is unhygienic. It is common practice in many bars to cover the ends of the pourers with cellophane when the bar is closed to help prevent fruit flies from entering the pourers. However, this is time consuming and labour intensive, and does not protect the pourer whilst the bar is open. Bar staff need to dispense drinks to customers quickly, and manually re-covering a pourer with cellophane after each use would be impractical.
Another problem with known pourers is that when used with bottles holding alcoholic drinks, there is a tendency for the alcohol to evaporate away over time. This degrades the quality of the drink and requires bottles to be discarded after they have been open for a certain length of time.
It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon known bottle pourers.